Photoshoot with Sofie Burley

Sofie Burley

We learned about manual studioflash photography at college last week, this included: using an appropriate lens; an introduction to the various flashheads; setting the ISO rating; taking light readings; adjusting the power of the studioflash and setting the aperture to get the most suitable exposure. This week we spent the entire class putting our new knowledge into practice.

I had arranged for pro model and photography student Sofie Burley to assist us in our shoot. Much of studio work is trial and error, as various apertures are tried in an attempt to get the best photographs.

This picture above right was taken with my Canon EOS 1000D and two 'barn door' flashheads with the following settings: ISO: 100; Exposure: 1/125 sec; Aperture: 8.0; Focal Length: 85mm.  Whilst the one below used a beauty flash.

Photos

Rugby Was My First Love..........

We played in colour too........

I started playing rugby in my early teens for Stewarton High School, in fact I played for the first ever Stewarton school rugby team.  I remember it as if it was yesterday.  It was away at the now defunct Speirs School in Beith and we drew 0-0.  I then played for Kilmarnock Academy and Kilmarnock Rugby Club, under the tuition of Campbell Bone, before heading down to Southampton for a couple of years and then to Hamilton. When I moved to Edinburgh in 1979, I joined the local work’s team Ferranti RFC (now merged to form Inverleith) and played for them for almost 14 years before retiring when I moved through to Glasgow in 1995.  In fact if you do a search for Ferranti RFC you'll see that myself and Mike Gordon kept the name alive for a while by running under Ferranti RFC, if I had stayed in Edinburgh I would now be running for Ferranti AAC.


My main position was open side flanker (No.7), although on occasion, I played in the other two back row positions, as well as second row/lock and famously played prop against Duns in the borders. The game was refereed by top Scottish ref Jim Fleming.

Ferranti Vs Moray House at Saughton Park

I made a bit of a name for myself in the rugby world as a no compromise tackling back row player and even received a bit of attention in the press and radio. I made some great friends playing rugby and it’s a time I look bar on with some pride. I captained the club and fulfilled a number of roles on the committee and had the pleasure of delivering a number of after dinner speeches to the rugby fraternity. I shared the top table with the likes of Findlay Calder, Scott Hastings and Sean Lineen. It’s perhaps surprising that given my love for rugby that I haven’t been to a game in around fifteen years. I guess I felt that I had served my time and I must admit that I’ve always enjoyed playing rugby much more than watching it.  I do still look out for the Inverleith and Kilmarnock RFC results though.

However as I wasn’t feeling up to a run on Sunday, or much else for that matter, I decided that I would accompany my new lodger to the Glasgow Warriers game against Ospreys. We were just a wee bit late in getting to Firhill, where we joined with over 2,500 other supporters to cheer on the Dark Blues. I thought that £20 was a bit steep to watch a game but it’s a profession now for top players and somebody needs to pay their wages.

It was a gorgeous, sunny winter’s day but I must admit it wasn’t a great game. Ospreys were right in the faces of Warriers and on more than one occasion the local players received ‘man and ball’. There were a few school boy errors in the back row, some things never change; the usual handbag exchanges and inconsistent penalty and conversion kicking. Glasgow started poorly but upped there game, especially in the second have and ran out worth winners, defeating the reining Magnum League champions by 31 points to 23.

Richie Vernon, the 23-year-old Glasgow No 8 caught my eye with an impressive display, which might be rewarded with a place in Andy Robinson's side to face New Zealand next month. However there could be no argument that Warriers’ 6’10, Richie Gray was the man of the match. The Glasgow born Lock was literally head and shoulders above the other players on the pitch.

I don’t know when I’ll next make it to a rugby match but rest assured, I won’t wait another 15 years!

Scottish Athletics National Cross Country Relay Races, Cumbernauld 2010

Pic by Karen Craig

Tired, sore muscles and sweating......... that was me before the National XC Relay Championships.  I had come down with the dreaded lurghy on Thursday when I had to cut my hill training session from three laps to just the one.  I even missed my usual Saturday morning jaunt to the Glasgow parkrun, staying in bed with a Lemsip instead.  If the afternoon’s race hadn’t been a relay, I would have stayed in bed but not wanting to let the Club down I loaded up with pasta and headed out to Cumbernauld to join the other Kilmarnock Harriers.  Ayrshire’s finest had one women’s team, of three, and three men’s teams, of four, participating in the prestigious event.  I was running the second leg for the C team.   

Women's Race

I watched some of the women’s race, where Killie did really well with a great performance by Kara Tait in particular who completed the undulating 4k route in a time of 16:25.  Kara handed over to Paula Wilson, who ran a course PB of 17:54 before Liz McDerment completed the ‘glory’ leg in a time of 19:39, to make a total time of 53:58.  Good enough to place Kilmarnock in 26^th spot.

Pic by Chris Upson

Men's Race

I warmed up as the first leg runners lined up for the men’s event.  Last year’s mud bath had been replaced with a beautiful sunny afternoon, however it was bitterly cold and I toyed with the idea of wearing a long sleeve vest and/or gloves.  In the end I settled for the tradition vest and shorts and headed towards the cross over pen.  The battery in my Garmin had died and although I had been offered the loan of a watch, I decided to run timepiece free.  Before I knew it I could see Harald Bartl heading for the finish line and I made my way quickly to the front.  Harald is in great form and completed the first leg in an impressive time of 17:05, to place 95^th out of 129.  I sprinted off just behind Central’s Stuart Watson.  I thought about sitting behind him but decided to try my hardest and overtook him in the initial stages.  However it wasn’t long until a group of 5 or 6 runners caught up and left me in their trail.  I made my way around the course, I wasn’t too upset as one runner and then another passed by me on the route as I recognised some of them as being much better runners than I am.  The lurghy was taking its toll and I was feeling shattered as I struggled up one hill after another.  The crowd kept me going though, even though my head was down, I was trying my best to keep going.  I didn’t need my Garmin or watch to tell me that my pace was slowing.  I tried to make up some time on the flat sections but the rain during the week had ensured that many of these were quite heavy underfoot.  Falkirk’s Mark Dunnachie caught up with me and commented on how hard going it was as we ran along shoulder to shoulder for a while before his class showed and he left me behind.  I went hell for leather on the steep downhill stretch before struggling up the last hill and along the ridge before heading down past the start line and then back towards the finish.  I managed one last push in the final strait to cross the line ahead of Greenock’s Bernard Kangley.

Pic by Kenny Phillips

I was absolutely shattered, I had given my all but I knew that it wasn’t good enough. My cold had made the race so much harder than it should have been.  I sat down against a tree for a while as I got my breath back and my heart rate down before being heading back to the Killie tent.  I didn’t hang around too long, deciding instead to get changed into warm clothes and head back towards the car.  I supported the other runners and chatted with friends as I made my way across the park.  It was great to see so many running buddies, just a pity that I wasn’t in better form.  

I headed back to Glasgow where a hotpot, followed by a hot bath eased my hunger and helped soothe my aches and pains.  I was too tired for a Saturday night out and settled for a quiet night in with Wallander and some vin rouge.

When I checked the results on Sunday morning (well done to Scottish Athletics in getting them on-line so promptly) I was more than somewhat surprised to discover that my time was 18:34, a course PB of 15 seconds and three minutes off of my 2008 time.  

Kilmarnock ‘C’ Team had finished in 100^th place with a total time of 74:10.  John McClarty had completed the third leg in 19:09 and Kenny Wales the final one in 19:22.  

The ‘B’ Team had place 80^th Connell Drummond completed the first leg in 15:46; Les McDerment the second one in 16:01; young Murray McDonald the third one in 17:23 and Graham Cairns the final one in 19:10, a combined time of 68:20. 

The ‘A’ Team placed 39^th with junior Ross Connelly’s first leg of 15:07; Cammy Wilson’s fastest Killie leg time of 14:42; young Grant Beattie’s penultimate leg of 15:53; and Scott Martin’s ‘glory leg’ of 15:34; making a combined time of 61:16.

Comparing my time with compatible runners, I now realise that, despite being unwell, my performance was acceptable and I shouldn’t have been so down about it yesterday.  Congratulations to everyone who participated in the event, including all the youngsters who had run before the seniors. It really was a great day and I’m pleased to have been a part of it.

Now where and when is the next race? 

Full Results

Video

Pics by Chris Upson:
Men's Race
Women's Race

Last Ever Saltcoats Five Mile Road Race?

Just found this on You Tube it's from 2008. ...... and Yes I did beat Paula.

Ayrshire Cross Country Relay Championships, Irvine 2010. Full Results

Senior Men

Fastest Laps
1st David Millar Irvine AC 12m 14s
2nd S Wylie Girvan AAC 12m 16s
3rd Neil Burnside Ayr Seaforth13m 02s

Team Placings
1st Irvine Athletic Club A 51m 45s
2nd Kilmarnock Harriers A 55m 07s
3rd Girvan AAC A 56m 00s

Full Results
252 Irvine A SM running lap
leg competitor posn time time
4 A Allardyce 1 51:45 13:14
3 J Findlay 1 38:31 13:13
2 D Millar 1 25:18 12:14
1 P Cullinane 2 13:04 13:04

254 Kilm A SM running lap
Leg competitor posn time time
4 C Wilson 2 55:07 13:45
3 G Beattie 2 41:22 14:22
2 S Martin 3 27:00 13:45
1 R Connelly 4 13:14 13:15

253 Girvan A SM running lap
leg competitor posn time time
4 S Wylie 3 56:00 12:16
3 A McTaggart 5 43:44 14:55
2 R Bark 6 28:49 13:40
1 G Hamilton 7 15:09 15:09

263 Ayr Sf A SM running lap
leg competitor posn time time
4 L Baker 4 56:06 14:38
3 B Duddy 3 41:28 14:58
2 A Rae 2 26:30 13:28
1 N Burnside 1 13:02 13:02

250 Ayrod TC A SM running lap
leg competitor posn time time
4 A McFarlane 5 58:58 15:44
3 D Munro 4 43:14 15:01
2 A Dunlop  5 28:13 15:07
1 G Turner 3 13:06 13:06

258 Irvine B SM running lap
leg competitor posn time time
4 J Sneddon 6 59:44 14:58
3 I Berryman 6 44:46 16:46
2 G Irving 4 28:00 13:49
1 B Craig 5 14:11 14:11

255 Kilm B SM running lap
leg competitor posn time time
4 L McDerment 7 60:32 14:59
3 G Cairns 8 45:33 15:31
2 H Bartl 8 30:02 15:38
1 C Drummond 6 14:24 14:24

256 Kilm C SM running lap
leg competitor posn time time
4 A Bryden 8 62:44 15:52
3 R Skillen 9 46:52 15:53
2 A Murray 9 30:59 15:27
1 W Duffy 9 15:32 15:32

262 Irvine C SM running lap
leg competitor posn time time
4 J Connell 9 63:27 18:29
3 A Rennie 7 44:58 15:29
2 C Miller 7 29:29 14:10
1 S Connell 8 15:19 15:19

257 Kilm D SM running lap
leg competitor posn time time
4 K Wales 10 68:20 17:24
3 B Darroch 11 50:56 17:09
2 I Goudie 11 33:47 16:34
1 J McLarty 14 17:13 17:13

251 Ayrod TC B SM running lap
leg competitor posn time time
4 S Bailey 11 70:33 18:16
3 S White 13 52:17 17:14
2 C Davidson 14 35:03 18:03
1 K Girvan 13 17:00 17:00

260 Troon T B SM running lap
leg competitor posn time time
4 D Bolton 12 70:57 20:13
3 D Hill 10 50:44 16:21
2 P Malone 12 34:23 16:43
1 G McKenzie 15 17:40 17:40

261 Girvan B SM running lap
leg competitor posn time time
4 S Flanagan 13 71:14 17:17
3 J Maxwell 14 53:57 18:41
2 J Rennie 15 35:16 18:17
1 S Flanagan 12 16:59 16:59

259 Troon T A SM running lap
leg competitor posn time time
4 G Dobbie 14 71:51 19:46
3 S Blan 12 52:05 17:38
2 D Etcheles 13 34:27 17:45
1 I McNee 11 16:42 16:42

264 Ayr Sf B SM running lap
leg competitor posn time time
4 n/a
3 n/a
2 T McCulloch 10 32:32 16:34
1 P Laing 10 15:58 15:58


Senior Women

Fastest Laps
1st Kara Tate Kilmarnock 14m 48s
2nd Louise Hill-Stirling Ayr Sf 14m 52s
3rd Toni McIntosh Ayr Seaforth 16m 07s

Team Placings
1st Ayr Seaforth 47m 50s
2nd Kilmarnock Harriers A 48m 04s
3rd Troon Tortoises A 53m 52s

Full Results
240 Ayr Sf SW running lap
leg competitor posn time time
3 L Hill-Stirling 1 47:50 14:52
2 T McIntosh 2 32:58 16:07
1 L wallace 4 16:51 16:51

236 Kilm A SW running lap
leg competitor posn time time
3 L Sloan 2 48:04 16:57
2 P Wilson 1 31:07 16:19
1 K Tate 1 14:48 14:48

216 Troon T A SW running lap
leg competitor posn time time
3 K Robertson 3 53:52 19:28
2 A Noble 4 34:24 17:41
1 N Fleming 2 16:43 16:43

239 Ayrod TC SW running lap
leg competitor posn time time
3 E Jessop  4 55:17 21:03
2 A McNulty 3 34:14 17:24
1 L Murdoch 3 16:50 16:50

237 KilmB SW running lap
leg competitor posn time time
3 M Goldie 5 57:16 19:31
2 A Cornforth 5 37:45 20:03
1 L McDerment 5 17:42 17:42

238 Kilm C SW running lap
leg competitor posn time time
3 n/a
2 T Kerr 6 39:21 19:23
1 K Quinn 6 19:58 19:58

217 Troon T B SW running lap
leg competitor posn time time
3 n/a
2 A Johnstone 7 45:56 23:45
1 K McKean 7 22:11 22:11

Irvine Beach Post Race Pics

A couple of photos and a compiled paronama taken after the race at Irvine.

Ailsa Craig

The Firth of Clyde

Paronama compiled from six photos

Ayrshire Cross Country Relay Championships

They're Off!

I had a pleasant journey down to the Ayrshire coast on Saturday for the county’s Cross Country Relay Championships. Despite a number of national races taken place at Irvine’s Beach Park this was my first appearance at the scenic location. There was a decent turnout from the local clubs with the host club having three teams of four in the men’s event but sadly no teams of three for the women’s event. Kilmarnock had four men’s teams and three women’s; Troon Tortoises: two men’s and two women’s: Ayr Seaforth: two men’s and one women’s; Girvan: two men’s and no women’s; and Ayrodynamic Triathlon Club: two men’s and one women’s. A total of 15 men’s teams and seven women’s teams, around 80 athletes in all, up significantly on the previous year.



I was pleased to be informed that I would be running the second leg, rather than the anchor/death/glory/last one of the previous week. Even better news was that the men’s and the women’s races would be held simultaneously. This would mean that I would be competing against other racers rather than just the clock.

There was perfect weather as the senior athletes chatted and warmed up as the junior athletes completed their races. One of the great things about cross country races and relays in particular is that athletes get more time than usual to mingle with each other, sharing the pre and post race banter and camaraderie. Around 2pm the seniors set off. I was in the D team and John McLarty was our first runner, as he made his way around the 4k course, I completed my warm up and made my way to the hand over pen. After the elite runners had sestet off on their second leg, I moved closer to the front and cheered on Natalie Fleming as she almost caught her Troon colleague Iain McNee as they crossed the line, in 16:43 and 16:42 respectively. Next home was Ayrodynamic’s Louise Murdoch in 16:50, surprisingly, ahead of Ayr’s Laura Wallace in 16:51. Girvan’s Stephen Flanagan was next in 16:59, followed one second later by Ayrodynamic’s Kenny Girvan. Kilmarnock’s John McLarty handed over to me in 17:13 and I set off in 14th place.

My Start

 

 

The first part of the course is wide and flat and heads out towards the Firth of Clyde, climbing the first hill at 200m, I was rewarded with a gorgeous view over the sea to the Isle of Arran. The route then took a sharp left turn and went along the ridge before descending, vending right, crossing a path and climbing a steep hill. I was impressed to see Girvan’s John Rennie and Ayro’s Colin Davidson running up the incline and any thoughts which I may have had about walking up it were nipped in the bud. I was rewarded for my climb with stunning views of Ailsa Craig in the distance and the two runners ahead. We made our way down towards the beach and through the sand dunes. I had caught the two runners at this stage but was frustrated at the lack of overtaking opportunities. I was stuck behind John as Colin negotiated the sand dunes better. I seized the first chance to overtake John and set off after Colin. The route took a sharp left and headed upward and inland. I caught Colin on the hill and had taken 4:30 for the first kilometre. The route took another left and zigzagged through the Beach Park. I managed to overtake Troon’s Anne Noble as the route headed back towards the coast and then Ayro’s Alice McNulty. The only person I could now see in front of me was Troon’s Peter Malone. The second kilometre had taken me 4:43. After another 250m or so I caught the bearded giant. I was now running against the clock and headed towards and then along Marine Drive. I wasn’t sure about the course but with the end almost in sight the markers took me back into the park. The third kilometre had taken 4:17. The course then meandered a little before reaching the wide and flat section which forms the start/finish of the race. I gave it my all as I made my way towards the finish line cheered on by fellow runners and supporters to cross the line in a total time of 16:34. I was shattered and had a lie down on the grass before regaining my composure and joining in with the others to support the remaining runners. My Garmin indicated that the course was 3.75k long and that my final 750m had been run at an average pace of 4:03 min/k, 4:25 for the race.

My Finish

I had handed over to Brian Darroch in 11th place and Brian did well to maintain our position with an individual time of 17:09. The ‘glory’ leg fell to Kenny Wales whose time of 17:24 was good enough to gain one place. Our team had finished 10th, with a combined time of 68:20.

Men’s Teams
Kilmarnock Harriers A Team placed second, to Irvine, with a time of 55: 07. The B Team placed fifth in 60:62 and the C Team eighth with a time of 62:44.

Women’s Teams
The Women’s A Team also placed second, behind Ayr Seaforth, with a time of 48:04. The B Team placed fifth in 57:16 and the incomplete C Team sixth.

Stars
Kara Tait ran the fastest lap of any woman with a time of 14:48, whilst Ross Connelly was the fastest Harrier with a time of 13:14. All Harriers can be pleased with their performance including Michelle Goldie who ran her first cross country since leaving school.


One Honest Man and Two Bonnie Lassies (Toni McIntosh and Laura Wallace)



Course

Photos by Lynsey Cooper 

Results                                                  
Senior Men
1st Irvine Athletic Club A 51m 45s
2nd Kilmarnock Harriers A 55m 07s
3rd Girvan AAC A 56m 00s           

Fastest Laps
1st David Millar Irvine AC 12m 14s
2nd S Wylie Girvan AAC 12m 16s
3rd Neil Burnside Ayr Seaforth13m 02s



Senior Women
1st Ayr Seaforth 47m 50s 
2nd Kilmarnock Harriers A 48m 04s
3rd Troon Tortoises A 53m 52s

Fastest Laps
1st Kara Tate Kilmarnock 14m 48s
2nd Louise Hill-Stirling Ayr Sf 14m 52s
3rd Toni McIntosh Ayr Seaforth 16m 07s

Glasgow parkrun # 93 - 16 October 2010

I cycled along to Pollok Park on Saturday morning to take some photographs and enjoy the post event banter in the Burrell café before heading down to Burns’ country for the Ayrshire Cross Country Championship Relay Race.

Glasgow parkrun
There was an excellent turnout once again at Glasgow parkrun, despite a large number of club runners participating in the various county cross country relay races in the afternoon. Some runners actually did both, including Bellahouston Harrier Suzanne McMahon who placed first woman to win her third race in eight days. Suzanne crossed the line, just two seconds off of her PB, in a time of 20:32. Runner up was Kirkintilloch Olympian Annmarie McCaffrey in 21:19, with Clare MacAulay placing third, with a new PB of 23:19.


Greg Hastie


Men
In the men’s event it was forty year old Ron Hill Cambuslang’s Greg Hastie who earned Gold, finishing just outside of his course PB with a time of 17:10. Garscube’s David Robertson finished in runner’s up spot in 17:43, whilst Sandy Taylor, making his parkrun debut, earned third with a time of 17:56. The age graded performance of the day was run by Al MacLachlan, who, spurred on by his club mate Scott Kennedy, placed fourth overall in his 58th parkrun, with a time of 18:05 and a wava of 82:21.

Full Results

Photos: picasa;  facebook

Composition Photos

Some photos taken at the canteen in Glasgow Met College to illustrate 'composition' within pictures and of course a little use of photoshop in the Irn Bru pic.

Thanks for your Support at the West District Cross Country Relay Race

I headed up to Rouken Glen Park for my first ever race in that particular park and my first run since Tuesday, the West District Cross Country Relay Race.

I was assigned the fourth ‘glory’ leg for Kilmarnock Harriers men’s C team, which afforded me plenty of time to watch the women’s race and chat with my racing buddies before my run. Several of the women that had completed their race recommended running in spikes. I hadn’t brought mine though and although I thought about dashing home for them I was fearful that they might start the fourth leg runners before the third leg runners had completed their runs. Killie Harrier Cammy Wilson, who had run the first leg, kindly, offered me his red Puma spikes size 12. After a trial run/warm up with Cammy’s spikes I made my way over to the change-over area.

Working Hard

I had been advised that the route was two laps, had a wee hill near the start, a couple of tight bends and some muddy sections to negotiate. After completing his leg, a shattered Peter Rudzinski came over to the penned in runners and advised us not to use all our energy in the first lap. After a while I saw Kenny Wales, who was running the third leg for the C team approaching the finish and made my way to the start. As I set off a Westerland runner completed his first lap and I tagged on behind him. The field is always spread out by the time it gets to the fourth leg of a relay and it was good to have another runner to follow, even though he was obviously a lot faster than me. A group of Bellahouston Road Runners shouted their support and then some Calderglen runners, as I made my way up the hill. It wasn’t long until he had left me behind and as I made my way around the course I was overtaken by two or three other runners, including Alistair Kell who looked to be having a great run. I was pleasantly surprised to see Stuart McBeath marshalling and he voiced his support as I encountered the first tight bend of the day. The first kilometre had taken me 4:34. The second kilometre headed up towards the pavilion and past the massed crowds to the end of the first lap. There were loads of people shouting my name and their support kept me working hard. The second kilometre had taken 4:33. I was now running on my own and I must have slowed down as I ran up the hill, however I increased the pace on the way down and was ‘speeding’ along when I heard the marshals shouting. I looked up to see a woman with her head down and a mobile phone to her ear standing right in the middle of the path. Crash, bang, wallop! I ran right into her, spun round and continued my run. The third kilometre had taken me 5:00. I increased the pace as I ran towards the pavilion and the crowds really helped me as I gave it my all for the final kilometre. The fourth kilometre had taken 4:33 and I had finished in a total time of 18:40. I was shattered and had a bit of a rest before heading back towards the rest of the Kilmarnock teams.

The C team had taken a total time of 72:07 with Al Murray running the first leg in 17:28; Harald Bartl the second leg in 16:59; Kenny Wales the third leg in 19:00 and my 18:40 to place 48th out of 53.

The B team had taken 66:58: Grant Beattie 15:51; Leslie McDerment 16:20; William Duffy 17:26 and Graham Cairns 17:21 to place 36th.

The A team had taken 62:18: Cammy Wilson 15:17; Ross Connelly 15:24; Connell Drummond 16:08 and Scott Martin 15:29 to place 20th.


Women’s race

Kilmarnock had two teams of three participating in the Women’s race. The A team placing 9th out of 26, with a combined time of 54:36: Kara Tait 16:33; Paula Wilson 18:08 and Laura Haggarty 19:55. The B team consisted of Liz McDerment; Lorna Sloan and Karen Quinn.

Full Results

Kenny Phillips Photos (will be here)

Glasgow parkrun 5K Event 92

I cycled along to Pollok Park on Saturday morning to take a few photos and try a wee run. Kilmarnock Harriers’ captain Connell Drummond had done a sterling job in putting together three teams for the afternoon’s West District Cross Country Relay Race and I didn’t want to pull out and let the Club down. After the parkrun had started, I tried a wee run and although my calf muscles were tight, I could run and, as the XC race was only 4k long, I decided to participate. Despite the absence of a number of Club runners due to the XC race, there was still a very healthy turnout of some 241 parkrunners. First across the finish line was, sub three hour marathon man, Ross Mackenzie who completed the 5k in 18:19. This was much slower than his 17:24PB but good enough for him to win at the nineteenth attempt. First timer David Quixal placed runner-up with a time of 18:32 and Bryan Burnett finished third with 18:40.

First Woman

There was also a new winner in the women’s race where Bellahouston Harrier Suzanne McMahon, continuing her fine form of late, crossed the line first, with a time of 20:42. This was a little slower than Suzanne’s PB of 20:32 but good enough to win by almost four minutes, in her fourteenth attempt. First time parkrunner Clare MacAulay placed second with a time of 24:23 and Stephanie Mackay improved her maiden time by thirteen seconds to place third with a time of 24: 35.

My photos here
 
Full Results here

Movement in Photos

No photographs of runners for a change but an illustration of some of the techniques that we are learning on the Digital SLR course at Metropolitan College.

St Andrew's Hospice 10k Results

1st 369 Martin Holnburger 0:34:28
2nd 373 Stephen Allen 0:34:39
3rd 515 Gary Grieve 0:35:15
4th 352 Mark Walsh 0:35:21
5th 485 Jim Waters 0:35:26
6th 491 Derek Govan 0:36:10
7th 445 Alistair Stanley 0:36:30
8th 100 Paul Kilby 0:36:49
10th 508 James Breen 0:37:55
11th 132 Andrew Hegarty 0:38:11
12th 488 Crawford Fallon 0:38:24
13th 444 James Healy 0:38:36
14th 186 Paul Reilly 0:39:08
15th 270 Francis McElroy 0:39:09
16th 325 Peter Oakley 0:39:19
17th 393 Ian Hodge 0:39:47
18th 145 John Holmes 0:39:58
19th 23 Harry Mulholland 0:40:06
20th 470 Paul Hughes 0:40:20
21st 22 William Smith 0:40:24
22nd 333 Kevin Gall 0:40:35
23rd 520 David Reid 0:40:46
24th 220 Stuart Gillan 0:41:11
25th 433 Angela MacKenzie 0:41:13
26th 183 Mr. M Kirwan 0:41:15
27th 199 David Buchanan 0:41:28
28th 149 Stephen Sprott 0:41:40
29th 453 Darren Hutchison 0:41:43
30th 379 Henry Curran 0:41:46
31st 474 Simon Lennox 0:42:22
32nd 532 Anthony Edgar 0:42:36
33rd 337 Thomas McRavey 0:42:39
34th 136 John Tougher 0:42:42
35th 288 David Stirling 0:42:48
36th 54 Fran Hill 0:42:55
37th 137 Iain Cameron 0:42:59
38th 380 Adam Brockie 0:43:04
39th 17 Simon Wroe 0:43:08
40th 319 Stuart Blackwell 0:43:10
41st 155 Martin McNeely 0:43:12
42nd 340 John Moffat 0:43:16
43rd 502 Stephen Dunford 0:43:22
44th 40 Clare Barr 0:43:30
45th 271 Lisa Major 0:43:32
46th 8 Ian David Smith 0:43:37
47th 468 Charlene Kelly 0:43:39
48th 347 Ian Gardner 0:43:49
49th 350 Kenneth Blake 0:43:52
50th 9 Marcus Ingram 0:43:57
51st 412 David Hay 0:44:00
52nd 102 Kirsty Grant 0:44:13
53rd 513 Marion O'Conner 0:44:14
54th 14 Craig Anderson 0:44:14
55th 263 Nicola Lindsay 0:44:14
56th 7 Mark Smith 0:44:17
57th 516 Mark Conboy 0:44:25
58th 446 David Woodhouse 0:44:28
59th 363 Stephen Docherty 0:44:47
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442nd 176 Andrea O'Neill 2:00:28

Long Exposure

Last week's DSLR photography class covered taking photos with a long exposure, the pics below were all taken in Glasgow at night time with a shuter speed of 30 seconds, using a tripod and my Canon 1000.

Forefoot Striking on my Calf Muscles!

Heel Landing

I’ve been running most of my life and although I pay attention to my running pose, I’ve not really thought too much about the way my foot strikes the ground. I was aware that my strike was heavy and adjusted this accordingly. The soles of my trainers have for a long time revealed that I am a mild over protractor and a more recent sports shop video of my running has confirmed this and the fact that I land on the outside of my heel and roll on the ball of my foot and then push off with my toes. Perhaps this is one reason why I constantly have at least one black toe nail! Even with this knowledge, I have never thought about how my feet are supposed to land during running. However it was pointed out to me recently that I have an unusual running style and that I look almost flat footed. We discussed the reason for this and concluded that it may be due to the problems I have with my lateral ligaments. I agreed to amend my footstrike style and to try to a few training sessions landing on my toes.


Forefoot landing felt good, it felt lighter and with my centre of gravity being to the fore it felt like a more efficient way of running and more graceful than my traditional heel landing style. However it felt more like a sprinting style than one which could be maintained for a long run and after three miles I noticed my calf muscles hurting. I therefore presumed that my new running style would require me to build up my calf muscles and completed my four mile session. My second training session was supposed to be a 60 minute interval session but I had to give up after 47 minutes as my calf muscles were aching and I was worried that I might cause damage to my Achilles tendon. The result is that today I can hardly walk and need to reassess what is the ‘correct’ running style for me.

Research

A literature search indicated that there hasn’t been too many scientific studies on footstrike patterns, however there was one published in 2007 in the Journal of Strength of Conditioning (Hasegawa et al., J Strength & Cond., 2007, (21), 888-893)

The research was carried out at the 2004 Sapporro International Half Marathon in Japan. The scientists used a high speed camera to capture the running style of the athletes passing through the 15k mark. They recorded the footstrike of 248 men and 35 women and categorised them as: heel, midfoot or forefoot strikers.

The research found that:

• The vast majority (75%) of the elite runners landed on their heel;
• About one in four (24%) runners landed on the midfoot;
• Only 4 out of 283 runners landed on the forefoot;
• Those runners that landed on the forefoot did not finish in the first four positions.
• There was a higher percentage of midfoot strikers in the first 50 runners than in the second 50 and then the third 50 and so on.

These results could be interpreted as finding that:

• Faster runners are midfoot strikers; or
• Midfoot strikers are faster runners ; or
• If you run faster you will become a midfoot striker.

 However they could in no way be interpreted as indicating that I should be running on my toes to improve my performance. Furthermore by changing the landing of the foot, I predisposed myself to injury, by repeatedly landing my full body weight on my contracted calf muscle for 47 minutes. Perhaps a more gradual move towards midfoot striking will show some improvement, or as I get faster there may be an automatic gradual move towards midfoot striking but I think I’ll leave forefoot striking for sprinting and at the moment be content with hobbling around with aching calf muscles.

Mixed Emotions at Strathclyde

With Glasgow parkrun being cancelled this weekend due to the Highland Cattle show, I was in a bit of a quandary as to which race to run this weekend: Edinburgh or Strathclyde Park 5k parkrun on Saturday morning or the Scottish Vets Half Marathon on Sunday or even both. On Saturday morning I plumped for Strathclyde and made my way along to Motherwell for the Strathclyde Park event. A few other weel kent faces from Glasgow had made the same decision. After a decent warm up I made it to the Start line just in time for the pre race announcements. I set off at a decent pace but was surprised to see so many runners shooting off and leaving me behind. One of these was young Roisin McShea (13) who caught me in the sprint at the end of the Glasgow event a couple of weeks ago and another was even younger Scott Connal at ten years old. Also in front of me but running at a more sustainable pace were Willie Reid and John Gilhooly. My first kilometre took me 3:51, which was five seconds faster than my 1st k at Kilmarnock. However I was feeling sluggish and was disappointed but not surprised with my second k time of 4:14. I was focussed on a female runner with a pink top on who was a good bit in front of me, who I later discovered was 57 year old Scotland runner Jane Waterhouse. I reached the half way point at 10:10 and heard Mrs Gilhooly encouraging her son Keiran behind me. I knew that the teenager had beaten me on every occasion that we have run together at Pollok Park and was looking forward to him working me hard on the long road back to the Finish line. However despite the third kilometre taking 4:12, I never heard him or anyone else for that matter running behind me. I did notice that Roisin had slowed significantly but I knew from past experience to expect this and continued to focus on Jane. The fourth kilometre was slightly faster at 4:09 and I had caught a few runners. I watched as Jane overtook a couple of guys as I closed the gap on her. I caught the guys and was just about to settle in behind her for the last few hundred metres when I decided to overtake her and step up a gear. With 200 metres to go, I caught Roisin and, mindful of her fast finish, increased my pace to keep her at bay, managing to catch Strathaven’s Stewart Robertson in the process. I crossed the line in a time of 20:29, just two seconds behind young Scott Connal. I had run a 4:04 final kilometre, including a 3:04 sprint at the end but was disappointed. I wanted to get closer to the elusive sub 20 minute 5k but was 30 seconds away from that! Anything around my 20:06 time at Kilmarnock would have shown consistency but I was a good bit off of that too. Granted we had to run into the wind for the last mile and I had no-one pressing me from behind but I still think I should have done better.


The post race chat helped me to put things into perspective though as other runners pointed out that I ‘had raised the bar’. I had smashed my course PB by 67 seconds and had run my third fastest 5k, furthermore my wava was 73.8% and I had placed 26th out of 138. So in hind sight not really too bad performance.  Once again huge thanks to all those involved with the event for given up your time and home baking, it is much appreciated.

Route and analysis.

St Andrew's Hospice 10k

Well done to everyone participating in the St Andrew's Hospice 10k charity run at Strathclyde Park.
 
Photos Here
Results Here

Bright Future for Bella

President Erica Christie

Being founded in 1892, Bellahouston Harriers are one of the oldest and most famous running clubs in Scotland. The Club’s most successful period was perhaps in the early to mid 1980s when renowned athletes including Peter Fleming, Andy Daly and Tony Coyne wore the distinctive vest. However the halcyon days are long gone and it’s now ten years since Jimmy and Sandra Irvine left the club to form Bellahouston Road Runners, since then the Club has struggled to find its way with internal divisions on the way forward. It would appear that whilst some members wanted to reach out and attract new members of mixed abilities others were hamstrung by their belief that the Harriers should remain an exclusively elite club. In the absence of any clear leadership membership dwindled and reached an all time low of eight in 2009. Some believed that the Club was in real danger of folding. However the last twelve months has seen a reversal of fortunes for the South Glasgow club, some members have gone on a recruitment campaign, targeting the Glasgow parkrun and other events with more than a little success. Membership had risen to over 150 by the time the Club held its AGM in September. The meeting allowed the differences in opinion to be aired and for democracy to take its course.
The result is that the Club now has its first female President in its 118 year history, Erica Christie, who is one of three women on the new seven member committee.

Progress hasn’t necessary come at the expense of success though as Erica, Bernie O’Neil and new recruit Suzanne McMahon ran to victory in the recent George Cummings Road Relay veterans’ race.  Once again the future looks bright for Bella.

UPDATE
Perhaps best for all concerned, a number of those opposed to the democratic changes have walked away from the Club and declared their intention to establish yet another club: Cartha Harriers.